Early parliamentary elections in Armenia were held with respect to fundamental freedoms and enjoyed broad public trust that needs to be preserved through further political reforms, Peter Osusky, Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE observer mission, said.
Open political debate, including in the media, contributed to a vibrant campaign, although cases of inflammatory rhetoric online were of concern, the statement says.
The general absence of electoral malfeasance, including of vote buying and pressure on voters, allowed for genuine competition, the observers said. Despite the shortened timeframe, the elections were well administered, although the integrity of campaign finance was undermined by a lack of regulation, accountability and transparency.
As noted by Osusky, now that voters have delivered their message, it is up to the political leadership of Armenia to ensure that this momentum is maintained, and that further reforms are implemented to fully consolidate the positive assessment we are making today.
Contestants were able to campaign freely, and fundamental freedoms of association, assembly, expression and movement were fully respected, the statement says. The official campaign period was very short, but campaigning started earlier, which is not prohibited by law. Election day proceeded calmly and free of pressure on or intimidation of voters, and voting, counting and tabulation were assessed positively by almost all observers.
“The winners in yesterday's election were clearly the people of Armenia who brought good spirit and energy to this election. I am pleased that broad public trust was characteristic of this election,” he emphasized.
He added that selling and buying of votes was problem in the past, but there has been a welcome change.
Osusky also said that he was in Armenia in 1999 and the situation he saw before was expressed by simple sentence of the driver of the car.
“He told me: ‘it's equal who win, no hope for Armenia’. Yesterday I was one of the people who saw that, thanks God, there is hope for Armenia,” he added.
